


A small act of...

by anonamor



Category: Senjou no Valkyria | Valkyria Chronicles
Genre: F/M, Minor Headcanons, Post-Game, Valkyria Chronicles 2 spoilers, Valkyria Chronicles 4 spoilers, probably going to end up being canon divergence, takes place during Valkyria Chronicles 2 timeline, where the hell is Hafen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-26 17:17:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17750153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonamor/pseuds/anonamor
Summary: April 1937. A stranger visits the Miller Company with an unwelcome proposition.Spoilers for Valkyria Chronicles 4 (major!) and Valkyria Chronicles 2 (early-game).





	A small act of...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NightsMistress](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightsMistress/gifts).



> Dear NightsMistress, I really like the prompt ideas you had but I'm not sure I managed to match the level of awesome your ideas had with this ficlet. Nevertheless I hope you enjoy this! There are going to be some headcanons thrown in. I personally didn't play any of the DLC so I don't know if there is content in there that conflicts with my fic. Sorry in advance if some of the information ends up being completely wrong. It's also...um...not very romantic...(eep!)

It started off as an ordinary day in April 1937, with Claude unlocking the door to the Miller Company factory, wheeling Riley into their office, brewing coffee, welcoming the employees and delivering their instructions for the day. Claude had already started thinking about what to cook up for lunch when the unexpected visitor arrived. One of the new employees noticed a stranger lingering around outside the factory and voiced her concern to Claude. Riley was absorbed in reading reports on their latest prototype ragnite-fueled portable stove, so Claude decided to meet this man alone.

“Is this the Miller Company?” the man asked as soon as Claude approached him.

Claude frowned. “Yes, is something the matter?” The company’s sign had been damaged by a recent storm but it should have been readable. Claude’s wariness of the man was only increasing.

“Then I would like to speak with the manager.”

“That’s me.” The role of “manager” and “owner” wasn’t clearly defined between him and Riley, but he was the manager in the sense that he maintained the grounds and organized their supplies and finances. Besides Claude wanted to scope this person out before bringing him anywhere near Riley.

“I am here with a proposition that would be good for your business.”

Claude stiffened. His impression of this man was only worsening.

“The Gallian revolutionary army-“

“We are done with war.” Claude interrupted sternly. To be honest, Claude was surprised that they hadn’t been contacted by someone, revolutionary army or regular army, sooner. He had read in the newspapers about battles happening in southern Gallia. He had hoped, incredibly wishfully, that it was just a minor issue that would soon resolve itself, but he had been wrong. Still, in this city still recovering from the Empire’s invasion, the last thing anyone here cared to do was see more bloodshed.

The man continued speaking as if Claude hadn’t said anything. “-supports the cleansing of Darcsens who have deceived us-“

Without warning Claude banged a fist against the door, causing the man to stop talking. “Get out,” he shouted, his body trembling, his fingers digging into his palms. He might have read somewhere that eradicating Darcsens was one of the platforms of the revolutionary army, but to hear it from one of their members directly was absolutely vile.

The man was undeterred. “If you will not listen then I will talk to the owner instead.” With that he surged past Claude and into the factory. Claude immediately gave chase, worrying about what the man might do. He didn’t have to go far. The man had stopped only a few steps into the factory. During Claude’s conversation with the visitor (how much had she heard?) Riley had wheeled herself out of her office and was pointing a gun at the man.

“Get out.” Riley echoed Claude’s words, her voice clearly laced with anger. “I may not be very mobile but I can still aim.”

The man hesitated for a moment, looking between Riley’s face and her gun, before bowing. “I’m very sorry, m’am!” he exclaimed. Claude just managed to not be barreled over when the man fled, the door slamming loudly behind him.

Riley lowered her gun. “Did we scare him off for good?” It was a rhetorical question. They had both been in the army long enough to know that desperate measures were taken when people felt desperation.

“I’ll tell them no every day if I have to." Claude was worried he would have to say more than just “no” in the future.

Riley knew what he was thinking. She smiled wryly. “I’ll keep the gun handy then.”

“Riley…” Claude moved to embrace her, lifting her out of the wheelchair to hug her tightly. He needed to feel grounded, to feel the most important thing to him, his reason for still living. Riley hugged back just as tightly.

“I know you wanted to scream at that man, to tell him how much Darcsens have done for us, how they saved us, but thank you for keeping cool and protecting us.”

“I…” Claude knew Riley didn’t think of him as “Scaredy-Claude” anymore, not for this, not for many things. Still… “I’m sorry. I just wanted him to go away, not fight.” He wasn’t apologizing to Riley, though, and she knew it.

“Same. He was really lucky that Leena wasn’t here.”

Claude managed to chuckle. Over a year had passed it was still difficult to think about him, about them, without a sharp pain in his chest. If only he could hear his voice, his encouragement, one more time!

“You know…” Riley began once they pulled themselves apart and Claude helped her settle back into her chair.

“Yes?”

“We could send supplies or at least knowledge to those guys in the south.”

“Hmm.” The guys in the south meaning the military academy? Claude smiled. “Well you are the brains behind this operation.”

Riley winked. “That I am. Leave it to me!”

Claude would help her search for the right addresses, write the letters, whatever he could do. While there was no way to wipe away the bitter feeling from the earlier encounter, having a “counterattack” did make Claude feel a bit better. Hopefully their friend, wherever he was now, would appreciate this small act of “payback”…

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to take on the idea of what Claude and Riley would be doing during the events of Valkyria Chronicles 2. It made me realize that as far as I know, the location of Hafen in Gallia is somewhere on the eastern border of Gallia, but whether it is in the north or the south was unclear. I arbitrarily decided that Hafen is in the north because it would be one of the first places the empire invaded; however that means the early fighting in VC2 doesn't make it to Hafen. The other major headcanons inserted into this fic are
> 
> 1) Riley is still using a wheelchair. To be honest I'm not sure Riley is ever fully mobile again; I couldn't tell what the game wanted us to think.
> 
> 2) The Miller Company has employees and the company direction has changed to making useful to normal citizens ragnite-powered appliances/items (like a portable stove) not just powerful energy-related stuff (which I think is what they were doing before?). I just feel like Riley would never want to be producing technology that could power large bombs ever again. Of course it doesn't mean the technology couldn't be used to make bombs anyway, but that she would purposely make the marketing different to no longer invite that image? Sorry if that was too much of a stretch idea...
> 
> 3) Claude never getting into the science behind ragnite, but enjoying the management of people, making the Miller Company a joint venture with Riley powering the science and Claude doing the facility, money, people management.
> 
> Sorry for such a long author's note! But I wanted to explain a few things; hopefully things make sense now if they didn't before.


End file.
